Fear to Covid-19 and stress: its effect on exhaustion, cynicism and self-efficacy in Mexican university students

Abstract

This research analyzes the impact of fear of Covid-19 on perceived stress and its effect on emotional exhaustion, cynicism and self-efficacy of Mexican university students. The research design was non-probabilistic, cross-sectional, quantitative and explanatory in a sample of 478 university students. Structural equation modeling based on partial least squares was used as an analysis technique. The results indicate that the fear of contracting Covid-19 triggers stress, which causes emotional exhaustion and cynicism and decreases the self-efficacy of students.